The Joy-Filled Book of Philippians {Part 2}

Even when our path is frayed, our God is good.

{If you missed week 1 of our study, find it here: https://medium.com/@nutrition.ellen/the-joy-filled-book-of-philippians-part-1-8-53909851f624}

Welcome back to the book of Philippians! I am so excited you came back for the second part of this series! Today we get to talk about suffering, sacrifice, and service for Jesus. Remember, though, that this is a book about joy and in this passage we will see how Paul has found joy despite immense trials, and we can too!

Philippians 1:12–26

“(12) Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, (13) so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, (14) and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. (15) Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; (16) the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (17) the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. (18) What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, (19) for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (22) But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. (23) But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; (24) yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (25) Convinced of this, I know that I will remain on and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, (26) so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”

What stood out to you the most here? What did you notice first? I’m not going to lie, this whole concept of people teaching the gospel with the sole intention of causing another person harm was a little hard for me. This is going to be an interesting passage to unpack.

“(12) Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, (13) so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, (14) and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

Let’s just rest here in this part of the passage before moving on to the elephant in the room.

Paul is so thankful that the gospel message has gone forth. Period. Do keep in mind that when Paul says “my circumstances” he is referring to the fact that he is imprisoned. This is not some small inconvenience that Paul went through in the past that he’s now grown to show thankfulness for. This is actually a current circumstance wherein Paul has chosen to have a thankful posture. He even uses this fact as a way to comfort these Christian friends who were really hurting for him. Through the years, I’ve grown better at looking back into the past and saying, “hey, look at how God caused all those past tragedies/pains/heartaches to work out for good! Yay God!” but it is significantly more difficult for me to look at our current issues and struggles and find joy there. Yet, this is what Paul is doing. He is so thankful that, despite being in prison, God’s word and the gospel message have spread even more.

I also find it convicting that other believers had their faith strengthened by seeing Paul’s faithfulness. When I am in a tough situation, so often I see myself as the one needing to be strengthened and encouraged and I take on a downtrodden posture but in this passage we see Paul’s difficult circumstance being used to encourage others in their boldness and faith. We even see non-believers being saved through all this {the very last chapter of this book refers to brethren in Caesar’s house, so it could even be that some of those individuals became believers during this time!}.

And lastly, Paul’s faithfulness to preach Christ even while imprisoned was demonstration that this gospel message is worthy of defending and confirming. And that Christ is worthy of our every sacrifice, too. I don’t know about you, but when I see someone truly sacrifice for Jesus it almost always strengthens my faith to do the same.

Can you say these things for yourself? Do you actually feel excitement when you or someone close to you gets a chance to share the gospel? Do you take the opportunities you are provided to share Christ with others or are the excuses of life an easy way out? And lastly, how are you using your current life situations (for example, sheltering in place) to advance the gospel? Paul chose to write a letter during his imprisonment that we now read again and again hundreds of years later! He did not see his time in prison as a “break” from ministry but rather a catalyst for it.

“(15) Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; (16) the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; (17) the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. (18) What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.”

Have you ever been in a sticky church situation? UGH! Been there. Paul was there. Here he had this great ministry going and then was imprisoned for preaching Christ and then he looks out and realizes that a group of people who he likely had ministered to in the past were now out preaching the gospel “from envy and strife” {insert angry face emoji}. Now I’m not sure if this preaching was an attempt to get Paul in greater trouble by stirring things up or as a way to gain the “Number One Preacher Spot” by taking over Paul’s ministry when he was in prison but I cannot even imagine what my {not so humble} response would have been to these people had I been in Paul’s situation.

Let’s break down some things Paul did right in this situation and create some personal applications here to ways we women so often struggle related to this:

• Motive check — Here are some questions to ask ourselves…

Are my teaching, service, and ministry in my church, community, and abroad motivated by a truly humble heart/motive?

Am I quick to judge other people’s ministries and work for Christ?

Do I make assumptions about what other people’s motives may be when I see them serving?

Am I envious of others and how they are serving?

Do I constantly aim for the top spot or the visible service?

Do I work well under other leaders or am I always trying to be number one?

• Paul chose to be content with the fact that Jesus and the gospel were being preached, whether or not the motive behind it was always from the best of intentions.
• Paul chose not to judge others’ motives, even though he knew they were not the best.
• Paul shows throughout this passage and book that he is willing to hand off his ministries to other people when God directs. We are going to see later in this chapter that Paul chooses to continue his fight in the flesh because his ministry is not complete, but we also see throughout this passage, book, and Paul’s life that he does not hog and hoard his ministries. He starts churches and equips others to lead, preach, teach, and host them. He ministers to people and then sends them off to minister to or be ministered to by others. It is so hard for me to be in a position of leadership or influence and to give that responsibility over to someone else without holding out some level of control or envy about the position yet Paul rejoices that the gospel goes forth, no matter who preaches and teaches.
• There are enough people needing Jesus for every one of us to have all the ministry that God leads us to have! Preach! Teach! Love! Serve! Encourage! and trust that God will be faithful.

“Yes, and I will rejoice, (19) for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

Here we see Paul once again remind us that he has chosen to rejoice. His ultimate goal is for Christ to be exalted, whether that means he lives or dies for Jesus. These couple of verses have some key words with some important meanings that explain the rest of our passage well and offer some challenges for us …

• Prayers — We see over and over that the Philippian church was faithful to pray for Paul. Being faithful to pray is something I struggle with so much. I have major prayer ADHD. We see Paul place great weight and importance on the prayers of his Philippian brothers and sisters in how his circumstances turn out.
• Provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ — Have you ever seen God step up, stand out, and provide? Did you give Him credit or assume karma just caused the stars to align in your favor or your hard work finally paid off? Paul rejoices here in how God has provided and he is going to continue to call out these miracles and provisions throughout this book. I’ve personally recently seen God show out and provide for some huge needs in my life and I pray I never forget it was Him, not me.
• Earnest expectation and hope — When the Bible talks about “hope” it is not in the way/definition we typically use. If I tell my kids “I really hope we can go get some ice cream today!” this is usually not fueled by some sure assurance of action but rather a wish I or they may have. But when the Bible discusses our hope in Christ it is as sure and confirmed as God Himself. Hope in the scriptures can be compared to a woman who is 8 or 9 months pregnant — while we can’t see the baby inside her we can see the evidence of how her body has changed, we can feel the baby move and kick, and we can hope that within the next month or so this baby will come. In fact, we can be quite sure that when a mom who is 40 weeks pregnant says “goodness I hope this baby comes soon” that this is exactly what is about to happen, even if her definition of “soon” may be a little shorter than what that little kiddo has in mind, it will still be very soon! So here Paul says he has an earnest expectation and a hope that God will not let him be put to shame and that God will be exalted. He knows it will be so.
• Not be put to shame — Have you ever made a big “oops” in ministry and felt so embarrassed? I sure have. Certain seasons and instances leave me feeling ill (even ashamed) when I think about how I messed up, jumped out too fast without proper prayer and planning, responded in an ungodly manner, given horrible counsel to someone, etc. Paul gets it — his ministry started by him killing people for Jesus and ruining churches and people’s lives. Paul is quite confident that God will redeem these times and these moments and even knows God will take his shame about it away. I am really thankful that God chooses to use imperfect like me, and Paul, to do His work.
• Boldness — To be bold is not to be brash, quick tempered, or otherwise un-Christ-like in our ministry. To be bold is to possess that special hope we spoke of earlier and to step up and stand out for Christ, not backing down from His truth.
• Christ … exalted in my body — Oh for people to look at me and praise Jesus! May this be my goal in life, as it was for Paul!

“(21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (22) But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. (23) But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; (24) yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (25) Convinced of this, I know that I will remain on and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, (26) so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”

Paul is seriously struggling with God’s plan for his life and death. He believes that to die and be with Jesus is honestly better but to live and serve Jesus is most necessary. If you are struggling emotionally with the path that God has laid out for your life, I invite you to park here and feel this with Paul. Paul was in prison, beaten and abused for his faith, with a shameful past (for which in Romans 8 he declares there is now no condemnation for in Jesus) and in all honesty he is just ready to hang it up and be with Jesus. Yet, he chooses every day to press forward because he knows that the people of God need him. How thankful I am that he continued his ministry even when it was hard because our Bibles and churches have forever been influenced by his faithful service to God.

Paul knows a truth that Jesus outlined in Luke 9:23–24: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” Jesus calls us to daily martyrdom for Him. While some people have and will physically die for Jesus, all of us are called to lay down our everything for Him every single day. Until Jesus takes us to be with Him, our daily death for Him is by dying to ourselves.

Final Thoughts…

• Have you given your life to Jesus? Or simply added Jesus to your life?

Ready for more? Here’s part 3: https://medium.com/@nutrition.ellen/the-joy-filled-book-of-philippians-part-3-8-a84d640d19f3

Resources:

• The Bible, New American Standard Version (KJV, NKJV, Amplified, NIV, ESV also used as reference)
• The Book of Philippians by Jo Saxton
• Count it All Joy by Kay Arthur
• Various Bible commentaries as desired